Middle East & North Africa

  

Journalist arrested, another believed to be held in Bahrain

New York, August 1, 2013–A Bahraini blogger has been detained and a photographer is missing amid signs that Bahraini authorities are trying to crack down on critical voices ahead of protests planned for August 14, according to news reports.

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Egyptian journalist held without charge in UAE

New York, August 1, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of Egyptian journalist Anas Fouda, who has been held without charge by the United Arab Emirates authorities for almost a month.

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Obaida Batal, correspondent for Orient News, has been taken hostage in Syria. (Orient News)

Attacks on Orient News illustrate Syria’s many threats

It is increasingly difficult to document violations against the press in Syria, let alone hold those responsible to account. It has always been hard to verify facts within the country. But now, the sheer number of violations and the expanding list of violators have become admittedly overwhelming. 

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Hamas closes two media offices in Gaza

New York, July 26, 2013–The Hamas-led government in Gaza on Thursday shut down the local offices of Al-Arabiya and the Palestinian news agency Maan after accusing the outlets of publishing “false” news, according to news reports.

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Journalists report being harassed, censored, and attacked amid clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Morsi. Here, Morsi supporters hold up his portrait and shout slogans. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine)

In Egypt, journalists report being attacked, harassed

New York, July 25, 2013–Several journalists have reported being harassed, censored, or attacked over the past week in Egypt, according to news reports and local journalists. The incidents come as Egyptian authorities have announced their intentions to abolish prison terms for insult charges.

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Polish journalist abducted in Syria

New York, July 25, 2013–A Polish freelance journalist was believed to have been abducted in northwest Syria on Wednesday, according to news reports citing local activists.

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Abdulelah Hider Shaea smiles after being released from jail. (Reuters/Farouq al-Sharani)

Abdulelah Shaea freed after three years in Yemeni jail

New York, July 24, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on Tuesday of Yemeni freelance journalist Abdulelah Hider Shaea, who had been imprisoned for almost three years on anti-state charges. Shaea was released yesterday after President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued a pardon, which also stipulated that the journalist could not leave Sana’a,…

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CPJ
NBC's Richard Engel and AP's Kathleen Carroll at the U.N. Security Council. (AP/Mary Altaffer)

After Security Council, what next for journalist safety?

Speaking at a U.N. Security Council discussion about the protection of journalists, Associated Press Executive Editor and CPJ Vice Chair Kathleen Carroll remembered the 31 AP journalists who have died reporting the news and whose names grace the Wall of Honor that visitors pass as they enter the agency’s New York headquarters. Most were killed…

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Outside the Moscow apartment building of Anna Politkovskaya on the night of her murder in 2006. A ex-police officer pleaded guilty to orchestrating extensive surveillance leading to her slaying. (AP/Dmitry Lovetsky)

Surveillance detection for journalists in the field

Much has been made recently about the digital surveillance of journalists–and rightly so–but physical surveillance remains a key tactic of security forces, law enforcement, and private entities. These operatives are monitoring journalists, gathering intelligence on them, and potentially obstructing journalists’ work or putting them at risk.

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A screenshot taken from YouTube shows the Dutch journalist and her husband pleading for their lives. (YouTube)

Journalist and her husband kidnapped in Yemen

New York, July 19, 2013–A Dutch journalist and her husband reported missing in Yemen in June have appeared in a video, pleading for their lives and asking for their captors’ demands to be met. Judith Spiegel, a Yemen correspondent for Radio Netherlands Worldwide, and her husband, Boudewijn Berendsen, were abducted by an unknown group in…

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